September 24, 2008

Beeb journo Justin Rowlatt was questioning the spook, identified
only as "John", when it became clear that all was not well with the
government-issue fake face fungus sported by the incognito intelligence
officer.

"He was sitting behind a rather grand desk at the Foreign Office and everything was going fine," Rowlatt told the Telegraph.

"Then I noticed that he was touching his upper lip occasionally ...
the edge of the moustache was peeling away ... he was aware of what was
happening."

For a while the cameras rolled, obtaining some no doubt priceless footage, but then Rowlatt took pity.

"When we had a break in the filming I said to him, 'John, the old
moustache is coming off.' He said, 'Oh God, I thought that might
happen.'"

The luckless spy was apparently a veteran Secret Intelligence
Service (aka MI6) officer who had tangled with enemy
counterintelligence operatives on many occasions. According to Rowlatt,
he recovered well from what could have been (but evidently wasn't) a
sticky situation, nonchalantly trousering the shoddy government
moustache and maintaining a stiff (though now unclad) upper lip.

"He was very good about it and just said, 'I'll take it off completely'", said Rowlatt.